January 21 – Christ by his Holy Spirit assures | Reformed Perspective

“For I will pour water on him who is thirsty, and floods on the dry ground; I will pour My Spirit on your descendants, and My blessing on your offspring” – Isaiah 44:3

Scripture reading: John 14:25-28; 15:26, 16:5-11

The faith to believe is a rich gift of God’s abounding grace. To travel through life without certainty is no life. Many people invest in insurance. It is said that the purpose of insurance is to provide financial protection against potential losses by transferring the risk from an individual or business to an insurance company. But insurance and assurance are two different things. Insurance has no lasting value. Mature believers rejoice in the lasting value of the gift of assurance. Even when we experience doubts, Christians can always go back to the fact that the LORD will never leave or forsake us.

But how can we be sure that Jesus delivers us from the wrath to come? (1 Thessalonians 1:10). Well let me ask you some questions. Do you have a whole-hearted trust in God’s promise not only to others but to you as well to forgive your sins? Do you believe in His gift of grace because of Christ’s merit to grant you eternal righteousness and salvation? In short, do you believe the gospel message rooted in Christ’s perfect once for all sacrifice? If yes, you  do know something of the Holy Spirit’s convicting power to bring you under the banner of glorious assurance. If not, you must run to the LORD and seek His favour. Do so today.

Faith is a living, daring confidence in God’s grace, so sure and certain that a man could stake his life on it a thousand times. – Martin Luther

Suggestions for prayer

“Breathe on me breath of God, fill me with life anew, that I may love what Thou dost love, and do what Thou wouldst do” (TPH 397:1).

Rev. Vellenga is presently serving as a ‘here and there’ preacher who preaches across several Reformed denominational/federational lines. Peter and his wife Judith reside in Delaware, Ontario and are blessed with eight children and a growing quiver of grandchildren. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com.

Source: January 21 – Christ by his Holy Spirit assures

Do the Crusades Prove that Christianity is Evil? | Cross Examined

There have been many reasons people have refused to take on the Christian faith since the time Christ was on earth. Some couldn’t believe in miracles. Some rejected Jesus’ claim to be the only way to God. Others didn’t want to abide by God’s rules for living and chose to risk the threat of an eternity separated from their Creator.

Today, those reasons seem to be less cited by those who reject or leave the faith. When you read or hear the stories of many who “deconstruct” their faith or deny Christianity, the reason often comes down to one central idea: Christianity is “evil”. The Crusades are pointed to as evidence that Christianity is used for conquest and subjugating people. Is this true? How should a Christian respond to this?

Caveats

This can be an extremely emotional argument for some people, and I want to make a few things clear. This article is to serve in no way to justify any immoral or unethical act by anyone claiming to be a Christian, ever. It is also an extremely small summary of a very long and complex history. That said, if people use the idea of the crusades as evidence that Christianity is evil, a Christian should be able to grapple with the question.

A Very Brief Summary of the Crusades

It should be remembered that the story of the Crusades was not only about the Christian faith. An objective reading of history shows that this was a struggle between two faiths, Christianity and Islam. Islam came about in the 7^th century AD, long after Christianity had become a common faith all over Europe, Northern Africa, and the Middle East, joining pagans, polytheists (Romans, Greeks), and other worldview groups that typically existed in relative peace by the 7^th century

There were eight individual military campaigns deemed by historians as “The Crusades”. They occurred between 1096 and 1270. The Crusades were initiated at times by church leadership, at times by kings, and at times by diplomats. The first Crusade (The Prince’s Crusade, 1096) was actually in response to aggression by Muslim forces that attacked Christians on pilgrimage to the holy lands, and in response to a request for aid from Byzantine Christians who were dealing with Muslim aggression from the Turks. Jerusalem was captured by the Christian crusaders, and protective forts were established to allow for safe pilgrimage from Europe to the holy land.

This led to a back-and-forth between Christians in “Crusader States” and Muslims seeking to exert their dominance in those regions. The successive Crusades were almost always in one way or another called in response to cities or regions that had fallen to Muslim conquerors following the first Crusade. (1) In the end, the areas the crusaders were able to temporarily control for a time largely fell to Muslim armies.

Notable Atrocities

Even though the Crusades were usually in response to Muslim advances, Christians committed acts that are widely condemned by historians as atrocities during the Crusades. In addition to civilians, Jews, pagans, and Christian “heretics” were also put to the sword by crusaders at various times in some of the campaigns. Notable massacres occurred in Jerusalem in 1099 and in Constantinople in 1204. That said, atrocities were not limited to Christian crusaders. Muslim forces were known to enslave, rape, and murder Christian civilians and hostages in the course of their advances. While the body count is very much in dispute, the accounts from eyewitnesses in that era from both Christian and Muslim sources tell a very dark story of humans mistreating other humans.[i] (2)

Summary of the Summary

Despite recent scholarship that attempts to paint the Crusades as nothing but bloody, unjustified aggression by colonializing Christians, it is well documented that the Crusades are more accurately described as an attempt by Western European Christians to respond to centuries of Islamic wars of expansion, reclaim the control of the holy land, and check the expansion of Islamic control in the East.[ii] (1) An objective view of history tells us that both the Christian and Islamic faiths were responsible for their shares of ungodly behavior. The fact that some crusaders committed atrocities should not be left out of any conversation about the Crusades. That should also be true for the acts of those with whom they fought. The story of the Crusades deserves a fair hearing with all of the evidence available for context.

Bad Religion?

Acknowledging that some Christian crusaders committed atrocities, should we deduce that the religion itself is evil? As Christian Apologist Frank Turek often argues, when someone plays Mozart poorly, you don’t blame Mozart. Where Christians sinned, Christians sinned. This is not an exclusive feature of the Crusades, and Christians (including yours truly) sin to this very day. But that does not affect the message of the namesake of Christianity.

Compared to What?

I would also expect that the honest critics would consider the actions of non-Christians who have also done evil in the name of things like progress, socialism, humanism, and other systems that sought (or seek) to conquer or eliminate people groups. Atheistic socialist regimes like Russia, China, and other countries are credited with killing more than 100,000,000 people in the 20^th century alone.[iii] (3) This is a far more bloody history than anything the Crusades could be charged with. If that is life without Christianity, I will take Christianity. How does the atheist defend non-Christian atrocities?

One could easily write many, many books about all the evils committed by Christians since Christ last walked the earth. And it is worth remembering that Christ is far more knowledgeable of all of the sins committed by Christians than we are. How saddened and angry He must be with us for the way we have treated our fellow image bearers, and for the way we have failed to love others as He loves us.

The Christian can and should acknowledge the wrongdoing of other Christians at any time, but they are certainly justified in also pointing out that there are no perfect non-Christians either. This can be a way to help people understand a point so apparent throughout the Bible, and summed up in the passage that states, “there is none who does good, not even one” (Psalm 14:1-3). Now, we can talk about the good news.

The Good News

Christians must remember that the object of our faith is not the perfect behavior of 12th-century knights, or, for that matter, 21st-century pastors and priests. The object of our faith is not in how well Christians behave. The object of our faith should be Jesus Christ and His perfect life, death, and resurrection, displaying the willingness of God to save us from our sins by our faith in Him and His work.

There is no need for anyone to lose trust in Christ, even when we lose trust in Christians. We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. No amount of other people’s sins will allow you or me to be considered sinless. But Christ lived a perfect life, told us to love God and one another, and died to save any who would repent and follow Him. So, consider your own sins, and seek Christ for yourself, being confident that we are all guilty and in need of what only a loving Creator could do through His Son’s death and resurrection.

References:

[i] Encyclopaedia Britannica. (n.d.). Crusades. In Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved October 14, 2025, from https://www.britannica.com/event/Crusades

[ii] Ibrahim, R. Sword and Scimitar: Fourteen Centuries of War between Islam and the West. Grand Central Publishing, 2018.

[iii] Rummel, R. J. Death by Government. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers, 1994.

Recommended Resources:

What is God Really Like? A View from the Parables by Dr. Frank Turek (DVD, Mp3, and Mp4)

Counter Culture Christian: Is the Bible True? by Frank Turek (Mp3), (Mp4), and (DVD)

How Can Jesus be the Only Way? Mp4, Mp3, and DVD by Frank Turek

Stealing From God by Dr. Frank Turek (Book, 10-Part DVD Set, STUDENT Study Guide, TEACHER Study Guide)

 

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Tony Williams is a retired police officer from Southern Illinois and currently lives in Kentucky with his family. He has been studying apologetics in his spare time for two decades, since a crisis of faith led him to the discovery of vast and ever-increasing evidence for his faith. Tony received a bachelor’s degree in University Studies from Southern Illinois University in 2019. His career in law enforcement has provided valuable insight into the concepts of truth, evidence, confession, testimony, cultural competency, morality, and most of all, the compelling need for Christ in the lives of the lost. Tony plans to pursue postgraduate studies in apologetics in the near future to sharpen his understanding of the various facets of Christian apologetics.

Originally posted at: https://bit.ly/3NO4vPG

The post Do the Crusades Prove that Christianity is Evil? appeared first on CrossExamined.

Source: Do the Crusades Prove that Christianity is Evil?

Choosing Forgiveness Over Bitterness – Part 1 | Pathway to Victory

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Many people believe that forgiveness depends on whether or not the offender comes asking for it. But in reality, forgiveness is an attitude choice that starts with you! Dr. Robert Jeffress shares both how and why we should choose forgiveness over bitterness.

Source: Choosing Forgiveness Over Bitterness – Part 1

The Christian and Media (Part 3): Denying Ungodliness | Proclaim & Defend

The question of how Christians should engage with media emerges from something deeper than simple moral concerns. The Holy Spirit dwelling within believers creates an instinct for sanctification, a spiritual reaction to the world around us. Media saturates this age we live in. You cannot drive down a road without encountering it in bumper stickers, billboards, license plates, and advertising signs. All these types of media mediate information and communicate values, making media an inescapable part of our world.

The New Testament makes clear that the world presents a problem for believers. Understanding this requires grappling with what worldliness means.

• Part 1: The Christian and Media, Part 1: The Fundamentals of Sanctification
• Part 2: The Christian and Media, Part 2: Of God or Of the World?

Understanding Worldliness

The book of Titus provides essential guidance on this question. Paul writes

^{Tit 2.11-12} ¶ For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, ¹² instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age,

This passage points believers away from the world, and the Holy Spirit witnesses this truth in our hearts. Christians should automatically recognize when something is not right. Our spirits should react.

Seven aspects help identify worldliness in the New Testament. Something is worldly (1) when it is common or profane, taking what is holy and making it ordinary. It is worldly (2) when it is natural rather than spiritual, as Jude 19 describes the worldly minded or natural mind. Worldliness (3) orients itself toward life in the flesh, toward humanity and its troubles such as paying bills, sicknesses, and traffic jams. These concerns belong to this world rather than heaven.

Worldliness (4) focuses on concerns of this present age as opposed to heavenly concerns. 1 Corinthians 7 illustrates this, explaining how a single person can mind heavenly things while a married person must attend to worldly matters like providing for a home. These concerns are legitimate, yet even they can damage our spirits if they consume us. Worldliness is (5) self-centered rather than God-centered, choosing worldly sorrow over godly sorrow. It is (6) earthly rather than heavenly, like the worldly tabernacle described in Hebrews 9:1. Finally, worldliness (7) involves worldly desires, the passions motivated by the lost mind.

We can summarize this way: something is worldly when it belongs to the affairs of life on this earth, especially as opposed to the life of the Spirit or of heaven. When the focus rests on this life in ways that push heaven out, that becomes the problem. Christians still must pay bills and handle earthly responsibilities. The issue arises when the things of this world push out or oppose the things of God. That defines worldliness.

The Two Denials

Titus 2:12 instructs believers to deny two things. First, we must deny ungodliness. This word was used in Greek society to describe someone who would write graffiti on the walls of even a pagan temple. Ungodliness describes a way of life which shows no concern for duties to or worship of God. Such a person has a total disregard for what God says about any particular subject.”¹ Ungodliness always involves bad conduct, attitudes, and behaviors that have no concern for worshiping God.

Second, we must deny worldly desires. These are desires characterized by this world, with no upward look, as if there is no heaven. Good desires exist. We can desire holiness, good citizenship, a good reputation, and giving glory to God. But when our desires focus on the things of this world, they become worldly desires fitting that definition about the affairs of life on earth as opposed to the life of the Spirit in heaven.

All that matters for worldly desire is grasping what this world offers. This includes power. If someone sets out to become a powerful person, to rule the world, to be a political player, and makes that the whole and only focus of life, that constitutes a worldly desire. Christians can certainly be involved in politics, but where does the desire lie? Where is the focus of life? If the focus of life is on the rush that comes from drugs or from sex or any other thing, that is a worldly desire. Sometimes people do not even have to indulge in the things they desire. They can play at the edges, get a little rush, and occupy their time and attention around that, with no consideration for consequences in this world or the next.

The consuming desire for possessions can become worldly, even for things we legitimately need. In our culture, most people need a car. You can buy a car as a utility, a useful thing. But you can become the person who ends up creating a car museum because you have so many cars. You need shelter, but if driven by worldly desires, you will never be satisfied with the shelter you have. You will always want more. Nothing is wrong with having a house, but homes can become worldly desires. You need food, but if driven by worldly desires, you will always want more, more, more.

The Three Pursuits

Alongside these denials, Titus 2:12 calls believers to three pursuits. First, live sensibly and soberly, under control. Second, live righteously according to God’s standards, submissive to God’s authority. Righteousness here relates to a perfect image of how a person should be, revealed in the Bible. Living righteously means living according to the Bible, meeting God’s standards. Obviously we are humans and sinners who struggle with this, but righteous living sees God’s standard and strives to live up to it. Third, live godly and reverently in the fear of the Lord.

When we live this way, we do not give in to our impulses because we are guided by the Spirit of God. We do not want to bring dishonor to God’s name. Our spirit witnesses in our hearts that we do not want to be irreverent in our behavior in any way.

The Training of Grace

Notice how verse 12 says the grace of God “instructs us” to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously, and godly in the present age. This instruction functions as child training. The grace of God, salvation, the gospel, trains us like little children and puts us under discipline.

Instruction can be painful. One commentator observes “Education in Christian behavior is seldom a painless process since it involves the correction of human behavior which by nature stands in opposition to God.”² If your little child simply did whatever you said, training would be easy. But he does not. Similarly, we do not come naturally to Christianity. We must be trained by the grace of God, by the Holy Spirit. This can be painful. Paul told Timothy to suffer hardship with him as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. (2 Tim 2.3) Part of being trained to serve the Lord means suffering hardship and being willing to take it from God.

Worldly lusts, then, are desires for worldly things without regard for God or God’s perspective. The impulses of the Spirit involve these denials and pursuits, and we are instructed in them by our salvation.

Applying Principles to Media

When we approach media with this understanding, we must recognize that media in general is dominated by people occupied with worldly thinking. Their values are worldly values. They think in terms of this life. For most of them, consciousness does not extend beyond this life. They do not think about heaven at all or God at all. Some figures in media are Christians, but most media is dominated by people who are not Christians.

Malcolm Muggeridge provides valuable insight here. This British television commentator and journalist, who died in 1990, led a fascinating life. He worked as a spy during World War II, started as a communist, got assigned to Moscow while working for the Guardian newspaper because he wanted to see how communism worked. Then he decided he did not like it and quit being a communist. He converted to Christianity as an adult, spent most of his life as an Anglican, and near the end converted to Catholicism. Though not theologically trained, he expressed faith in Christ.³

As a popular television commentator, especially in the 70s, Muggeridge was brilliant, funny, witty, and a keen observer who wrote numerous books including an autobiography called Chronicles of Wasted Time. His book Christ and the Media is the text of three lectures he gave at the invitation of John Stott, a well-known Anglican Christian commentator and a friend of Muggeridge.

Muggeridge makes a striking observation: “not only can the camera lie, it always lies.” He quotes Simone Weil, a Jewish woman and thinker who died in her thirties during the war. She wrote:

“Nothing is so beautiful, nothing is so continually fresh and surprising, so full of sweet and perpetual ecstasy, as the good; no desert is so dreary, monotonous and boring as evil. But with fantasy it’s the other way round. Fictional good is boring and flat, while fictional evil is varied, intriguing, attractive and full of charm.”⁴

Good things from God are absolutely beautiful. A person who lives for evil finds it empty, just as Solomon says in Ecclesiastes that all is vanity. Then notice the reversal: with fantasy, everything reverses. Fictional good is boring and flat. Who wants a story about a good character? Who wants a story about an ordinary life, somebody going to work, doing their job, raising their kids, and having basically a decent life? That is boring. Yet fictional evil is varied, intriguing, attractive, and full of charm. Muggeridge adds this observation:

“These words were written a decade or so before television had been developed to attract its huge audiences all over the world, becoming the greatest fabricator and conveyor of fantasy that has ever existed. Its offerings, as it seems to me, bear out the point Simone Weil makes to a remarkable degree. For in them, it is almost invariably eros rather than agape that provides all the excitement; celebrity and success rather than a broken and a contrite heart that are held up as being pre-eminently desirable; Jesus Christ in lights on Broadway rather than Jesus Christ on the cross who gets a folk hero’s billing.”⁵

The world follows after Jesus Christ Superstar. The world wants nothing to do with the Jesus of the gospels.

“… The transposition of good and evil in the world of fantasy created by the media leaves us with no sense of any moral order in the universe, and without this, no order whatsoever, social, political, economic or any other, is ultimately attainable. There is only chaos. To break out of the fantasy, to rediscover the reality of good and evil, and therefore the order which informs all creation — this is the freedom that the Incarnation made available, that the Saints have celebrated and that the Holy Spirit has sanctified.”⁶

Muggeridge gave these lectures in 1976. They were published in book form in 1977. That seems ancient, yet everything he says about television transfers to all kinds of media available today.

What Should We Do?

At a minimum, we must view all media critically. It does not matter what the media is. You need to be making decisions about it, analyzing it and looking at it critically in terms of what you take in.

While I am occasionally entertained by media productions, I must remember how infused with the world it all is, how fake it is. Years ago, at Universal Studios, tour guides took us through an area where they had all these potted trees. They would use them whenever a forest was needed in a movie scene. Of course, they would only shoot the scene from waist high so you would not see the pots underneath. If the trees started losing leaves, they would just tack them back on for the set. The show must go on. This illustrates well that not only does the camera lie, it always lies.

This includes so-called news programs as well as all other forms of entertainment. In recent years, news has become entertainment. Twenty-four-hour news channels must fill their time with something. News is infused with the world, steeped in the world. It communicates the values of all those under-the-sun things that make up worldliness. We must be critical.

We can use the things of the world to be sure, and we must use them to some extent. But the media builds a fantasy where power, desire, this earth and its things are all part of the greatest good. Consider how people play role-playing games of various kinds, joining with other people all around the world. Somebody could be playing your game on the other side of the world at the same time, and you can compete with them on the internet. But what are these games communicating about truth? What values do they espouse as the great value to be followed? Often it is making war, gaining power, indulging the self.

At a minimum, we must view all media critically. We need to learn discipleship, and that will mean saying no to many things we find in the media. As Christians, we must be always discerning and at times saying no to ourselves. Those desires we have push us forward. We want it, we want it, we want it. We must submit those desires to the Holy Spirit.

This does not mean turning into an anti-technology culture cult. We are not rejecting technology itself. But as we use the world, we must make some decisions. Sometimes we are going to have to say no to the things that we want. The call remains to live holy, soberly, righteously, and godly in this present age.

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Don Johnson is the pastor of Grace Baptist Church of Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada.

This article reproduces a sermon preached on March 26, 2023, which you can view or listen to here. We used Claude.AI to turn the transcript into the article. Pastor Johnson has reviewed and edited the final form of this article.

1. W. Stanley Outlaw, “Commentary on the Books of 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy & Titus,” in 1 Thessalonians through Philemon, ed. Robert E. Picirilli, The Randall House Bible Commentary (Nashville, TN: Randall House, 1990), 389.
2. “Titus,” in 1, 2 Timothy, Titus, by Hayne P. Griffin, The New American Commentary 34 (Nashville, Tenn: Broadman Press, 1992).
3. I make no judgement about the reality of his profession, that is God’s business.
4. Simone Weil, quoted in Malcolm Muggeridge, Christ and the Media (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1977), 46.
5. Muggeridge, 46.
6. Muggeridge, 46-47.

Source: The Christian and Media (Part 3): Denying Ungodliness

The Sin That So Easily Ensnares | DashHouse

I’m both encouraged and sobered by the reality of Hebrews 12:1, which speaks of “the sin that so easily ensnares us” (CSB).

This passage has accompanied me for years. I’ve reflected often on the cloud of witnesses from Hebrews 11, meant to encourage us as we run our race. They’ve run well; so can we. I’ve considered the call in Hebrews 12:1 to lay aside every weight so we can run with endurance. I’ve preached about looking to Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. Yet only recently have I focused on a particular reality: we’re always vulnerable to being ensnared or entangled by sin.

The phrase itself is somewhat elusive. The word translated “ensnares” appears only here in the New Testament, and scholars suggest a number of possible meanings. While some interpreters argue the writer means habitual sins (recurring patterns of sin struggles in our lives), I believe he’s describing something about sin’s essential nature. Sin entangles our feet and slows our stride, hindering us from running the Christian race as we should. It’s not just habitual sin that can do this; any sin will entangle us if we’re not careful. It’s any sin. As Donald Guthrie writes, “It must not be supposed that any particular sin—a besetting sin—is in mind. It is rather sin itself which is the hindrance.”

Sin remains a perpetual threat throughout the Christian life. No matter how far we’ve come, we can still stumble. We’re never beyond getting tripped up.

A couple of weeks ago, news broke about a Christian author who confessed to serious sin. I’ve noticed a troubling pattern lately: moral failures increasingly involve older men. I used to think we reached an age when we were relatively safe from such snares. It was a convenient belief. It suggested I’d eventually arrive at a place of security. But experience and Scripture teach otherwise. I will always face this danger, and so will you.

This truth shouldn’t discourage us. After all, the writer to the Hebrews calls us to lay aside entangling sin. It’s possible. But it should make us vigilant. None of us is beyond the reach of temptation’s grip. We must keep taking sin seriously. We must keep looking back at those who have already finished well. Even more importantly, we must fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.

When we understand how easily sin ensnares us, we’ll respond with less shock when others fall. More importantly, we’ll guard ourselves against the same fate until we cross the finish line.

I’m 58 years old. I don’t know how much race lies ahead. What I do know is this: there’s no room to coast. As long as I draw breath, I must remain alert. The good news is that Hebrews assures us many have already set an example, that Jesus will help us, and that running well is possible even in the face of persistent danger.

Keep running. Stay vigilant. The race isn’t over. Lay aside the sin that would trip you up, and finish well like so many before you.

Source: The Sin That So Easily Ensnares

List: This Is What Grace Truly Looks Like:

Wednesday Prayer Guide

Adoration

I have tasted and seen that the Lord is good;
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!
O fear the Lord, you His saints,
For those who fear Him lack nothing. (Psalm 34:8–9)

I thank You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Your works are wonderful,
And my soul knows it full well. (Psalm 139:14)

All Your works will praise you, O Lord,
And Your saints will bless You.
They will speak of the glory of Your kingdom
And talk of Your power,
So that all men may know of Your mighty acts
And the glorious majesty of Your kingdom.
Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
And Your dominion endures through all generations. (Psalm 145:10–13)

Blessed are You, O Lord, God of Israel, our father, forever and ever. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for everything in heaven and earth is Yours. Yours, O Lord, is the kingdom, and You are exalted as head over all. Both riches and honor come from You, and You are the ruler of all things. In Your hand is power and might to exalt and to give strength to all. Therefore, my God, I give You thanks and praise Your glorious name. (1 Chronicles 29:10–13)

Pause to express your thoughts of praise and worship.

Confession

God is wise in heart and mighty in strength.
Who has resisted Him without harm? (Job 9:4)

Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven,
Whose sin is covered.
Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity
And in whose spirit is no deceit.
When I kept silent, my bones wasted away
Through my groaning all day long.
For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me;
My strength was sapped as in the heat of summer.
I acknowledged my sin to You
And did not hide my iniquity.
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”
And You forgave the guilt of my sin. (Psalm 32:1–5)

Come, let us return to the Lord.
For He has torn us, but He will heal us;
He has injured us but He will bind up our wounds.
After two days He will revive us;
On the third day He will raise us up,
That we may live before Him. (Hosea 6:1–2)

Ask the Spirit to search your heart and reveal any areas of unconfessed sin. Acknowledge these to the Lord and thank Him for His forgiveness.

I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake,
And I will not remember your sins. (Isaiah 43:25)

This is what the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, says:
“In repentance and rest is your salvation;
In quietness and trust is your strength.” (Isaiah 30:15)

Renewal

Lord, renew me by Your Spirit as I offer these prayers to You:

May I not profane Your holy name, but acknowledge You as holy before others. You are the Lord, who sanctifies me. (Leviticus 22:32)

May I be a person of faith, who does not doubt the promises of God, and not a double-minded man, who is unstable in all his ways. (James 1:6, 8)

May I abound in love and faith toward the Lord Jesus and to all the saints. (Philemon 5)

May I be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. (2 Timothy 2:1)

Pause to add your own prayers for personal renewal.

Petition

Father, using Your word as a guide, I offer You my prayers concerning my love for others.

Concerning love, You have said:
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments. (Matthew 22:37–40)

Whatever I want others to do to me, may I also do to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets. (Matthew 7:12)

Love is patient, love is kind, it does not envy; love does not boast, it is not arrogant, it does not behave rudely; it does not seek its own, it is not provoked, it keeps no record of wrongs; it does not rejoice in unrighteousness but rejoices with the truth; it bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. (1 Corinthians 13:4–8)

May I love my enemies and pray for those who persecute me. (Matthew 5:44)

May I be an imitator of God as a beloved child, and walk in love, just as Christ loved me and gave Himself up for me as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. (Ephesians 5:1–2)

May I sanctify Christ as Lord in my heart, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks me to give the reason for the hope that is in me, but with gentleness and respect. (1 Peter 3:15)

I should walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of every opportunity. My speech should always be with grace, seasoned with salt, so that I may know how to answer each person. (Colossians 4:5–6)

Is this not the fast You have chosen:
To loose the bonds of wickedness,
To undo the cords of the yoke,
And to let the oppressed go free
And break every yoke?
Is it not to share our food with the hungry
And to provide the poor wanderer with shelter;
When we see the naked, to clothe him,
And not to turn away from our own flesh?
Then our light will break forth like the dawn,
And our healing will quickly appear,
And our righteousness will go before us;
The glory of the Lord will be our rear guard.
Then we will call, and the Lord will answer;
We will cry, and He will say, “Here I am.” (Isaiah 58:6–9)

May I not let any corrupt word come out of my mouth, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may impart grace to those who hear. May I not grieve the Holy Spirit of God by whom I was sealed for the day of redemption. May I put away all bitterness and anger and wrath and shouting and slander, along with all malice. And may I be kind and compassionate to others, forgiving them just as God in Christ also forgave me. (Ephesians 4:29–32)

May I do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility may I esteem others as more important than myself. Let me look not only to my own interests, but also to the interests of others. (Philippians 2:3–4)

May I be of one mind with others and be sympathetic: loving them as brothers and sisters, being compassionate and humble. May I not return evil for evil or insult for insult, but blessing instead, because to this I was called, that I may inherit a blessing. (1 Peter 3:8–9)

Pause here to express any additional personal requests, especially concerning relationships with others:Greater love and compassion for others Loved ones Those who do not know Christ Those in need

My activities for this day
Special concerns

Intercession

Lord, I now prepare my heart for intercessory prayer for evangelism.

May I devote myself to prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. I pray that God may open to me a door for the word, so that I may speak the mystery of Christ and proclaim it clearly, as I ought to speak. (Colossians 4:2–4)

I pray that words may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel. (Ephesians 6:19)

In the spirit of these passages, I pray for those who do not know Christ:Friends Relatives Neighbors Coworkers Special opportunities

Affirmation

Feed my mind and heart, O Lord, as I affirm these truths from Your word concerning my life in Christ:

You have shown me what is good;
And what does the Lord require of me
But to act justly and to love mercy
And to walk humbly with my God? (Micah 6:8)

Though I walk in the flesh, I do not war according to the flesh. The weapons of my warfare are not fleshly, but divinely powerful to overthrow strongholds, casting down arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:3–5)

May I not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but of the world. And the world and its lusts are passing away, but the one who does the will of God abides forever. (1 John 2:15–17)

I will not lay up for myself treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But I will lay up for myself treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where my treasure is, there my heart will be also. (Matthew 6:19–21; Luke 12:34)

I make it my ambition to please the Lord, whether I am at home in the body or away from it. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. (2 Corinthians 5:9–10)

Pause to reflect upon these biblical affirmations.

Thanksgiving

For who You are and for what You have done, accept my thanks, O Lord:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that is incorruptible and undefiled and unfading, reserved in heaven for us who through faith are guarded by the power of God for salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. (1 Peter 1:3–5)

Whom have I in heaven but You?
And there is nothing on earth I desire besides You.
My flesh and my heart may fail,
But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. (Psalm 73:25–26)

Why are you downcast, O my soul?
Why are you disturbed within me?
Hope in God, for I will yet praise Him,
The help of my countenance and my God. (Psalm 42:11)

I call this to mind,
And therefore I have hope:
The Lord’s mercies never cease,
For His compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:21–23)

Pause to offer your own expressions of thanksgiving.

Closing Prayer

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be pleasing in Your sight,
O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. (Psalm 19:14)

God is able to do immeasurably more than all that we ask or think, according to His power that is at work within us. To Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever. (Ephesians 3:20–21)

Boa, K. (1993). Handbook to prayer: praying scripture back to God. Atlanta: Trinity House.